Bill Start

An act to add Section 66014.8 to the Education Code, relating to postsecondary education.

[
Approved by
Governor
September 17, 2014.
Filed with
Secretary of State
September 17, 2014.
]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2247, Williams.
Postsecondary education: accreditation documents.

Under existing law, there are 4 segments of postsecondary education in this state. These segments include the three public segments: the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges. Private postsecondary educational institutions and independent institutions of higher education constitute the other segment.

This bill would require each campus or other unit of the segments listed above that receives public funding through state or federal financial aid programs, is institutionally accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education, and offers education and training programs to California students to make final institutional accreditation documents available to the public via the institution’s Internet Web site, as specified.

To the extent that this bill would require community college districts to provide this service, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Digest Key

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 66014.8 is added to the Education Code, to read:

66014.8.

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) “Institutional accreditation documents” means the institution’s institutional accreditation visiting team reports and the institutional accreditation agency action letters following an accreditation agency’s action relating to an initial accreditation, reaffirmation, comprehensive review, special visit, or any sanction or adverse action taken against an affiliated institution.

(2) “Segment of postsecondary education” means the California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California, the independent institutions of
higher education, as defined in Section 66010, or the private postsecondary educational institutions, as defined in Section 94858.

(b) All campuses or other units of any segment of postsecondary education that receive public funding through state or federal financial aid programs, are institutionally accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education, and offer education and training programs to California students shall make final institutional accreditation documents available to the public, once those documents have been made final through an action of the accrediting agency, via display in a prominent location on the institution’s Internet Web site, with a link to these documents on the institutional Internet Web site homepage.

(c) A campus or other unit of any segment of postsecondary education whose documents are not currently
available to the public shall make all institutional accreditation documents finalized by the accrediting agency based on reviews that take place after July 1, 2015, available to the public pursuant to subdivision (b).

SEC. 2.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.